The holidays are a time meant to spend with family, friends and loved ones not so much laying on the couch battling your stomach’s gas from the abundance of food you ate. We are certainly down with enjoying your food this holiday season, we just don’t want you to suffer from its extra bloat. To combat this issue, we have a list of exercises to help keep bloat at bay.
Having a strong core allows the body to work overtime when needed aka after a holiday meal. So, when it’s time to indulge, you’ll be fully prepared thanks for bloat with a few simple core movements that will leave you in a more comfortable later on. And who is the queen of core moves, why it is Pilates of course.
Sweated Twist
This Pilates move does a great job at working the core and oblique strength as well as their flexibility. Having great flexibility in the abs too leaves room for extra movement when your insides are working a bit in overdrive.
How To:
- Start by taking a seat on the ground.
- Sit nice and tall in your torso with your legs extended straight out from your hips.
- Raise your arms to shoulder height and extend them out to the side.
- While keeping your stomach contracted into your spin, slowly rotate your torso to the right, going for as far as a rotation you can while keeping great form.
- Recoil halfway out of the rotation, then go into the rotation again on that same side again.
- Recoil completely and return to your starting position.
- Continue to rotate but this time rotate in the opposite direction.
Swimmer
How To:
- Start by lying face down on your mat with your arms reaching out front overhead and your legs straight back.
- Press your pelvis slightly into the floor to anchor the hips while lifting the legs and arms slightly off of the mat.
- Maintain the spine in its position while extending one leg through moving the hip and flexing the opposite shoulder to the arm slightly higher.
- Begin to pump the opposite arm and opposite leg up and down as you as if you were swimming, while inhaling for five counts and exhaling for five counts.
- Be sure to keep the arms and legs as straight as possible while only moving these appendages from the hips and shoulders.
- Repeat five. Taking a 10 second great in between rounds.
Single-Leg Lower
- Start on flat on your back on your mat. Lift both legs off of the mat and point them to the sky.
- Keeping your hands on the mat by your side, tuck your chin and lift your shoulder off of the mat by use of contracting your abs towards the mat.
- Inhale and lower one leg down to 45-degree angle or lower, making sure your back does not lift off of the mat.
- With control and use of your abs, lift your leg back up to your starting point.
- Perform the same movement with your other leg.
- Repeat 8-10 times on each leg.
Want to include more Pilates into your routine? Here is a Pilates at-home workout to try.
